Stolen Identity
by mishmash16
Summary: Gwen touches a strange alien device, and someone begins killing the general public using a torchwood gun
1. Chapter 1

Set sometime near the end of series one.

I don't own Torchwood, or any of its members.  
Also the alien in this chapter is from Hellboy.

Gwen sighed as the rift alarm went off for the fourth time that day.  
It had been a long day for Gwen, she had been chased by an angry weevil, coated in mysterious alien slime, and pissed off a blowfish.  
All she wanted was to go home and put her feet up, but it seemed the day wasn't over yet.  
She looked up to see jack hurry out of his office, "Gwen, Owen, with me!" He called out behind him, already walking out of the Hub.  
Gwen sighed again, she could tell Jack was in a bad mood, but she could hardly blame him, everyone was in a bad mood.  
The rift had been active all week, keeping them busy, at first it was fun, getting out of the Hub and into the field so often. But by Friday everyone was tired, and could do with a break.  
Tosh sent them the coordinates of the rift spike, it had only been a small one, but it was worth checking if anything came through.  
Tosh's coordinates lead them to a rather large park.  
Jack groaned when he saw it.  
"Tosh, is there no way of getting a more exact spot?" He asked hopefully.  
"No," Tosh's voice came over the coms, "The spike was too small to get an exact reading, the best I can do is shrink it to the park."  
"Right." Jack turned to Gwen and Owen, "Split up." He ordered.  
Owen scowled, "Really? This place is huge, and we don't even know if anything came through."  
Jack ignored him and set off into the park.  
Gwen and Owen slowly followed him.  
Gwen went off to the left, taking a small gravel path into a foresty part of the park.  
She continued a way down the path, seeing nothing but a few joggers, out for an evening run.  
Gwen smiled, she knew she should be looking for an alien artefact, but she couldn't help finding herself rather enjoying the park.  
It was mostly quite, and free of people. Gwen felt relaxed for the first time that day.  
She was just coming to a split in the path when she noticed a glint of metal out of the corner of her eye.  
Turning, she noticed something on the side of the path.  
Gwen went over to investigate.  
It was a metal device, about the size of a c.d. It appeared to be made of a series of thin rings, connected by a metal rod running through each ring.  
The outer most ring was covered markings, unlike any Gwen had seen before.  
Gwen decided the object was almost definitely what they were looking for.  
It did not appear to be doing anything, and it certainly didn't look dangerous, so Gwen knelt down and grabbed it.  
Instantly she felt lightheaded, a warm weightless sensation filled her brain..  
Gwen smiled as a tingling feeling stared in her hand, and slowly spread up her arm.  
Suddenly Owen's voice came blearing out of the coms, his violent sting of swear words catching Gwen off guard.  
She tapped her earpiece. "Owen, what's going on?"  
Owen cursed before replying, "never mind, I'm fine now, just some bloody thing decided to use my leg as a restroom."  
Gwen heard Jack laughing, and couldn't help chuckling at Owens misfortune.  
"So anyone actually found anything Torchwood related?" Jack asked.  
Gwen looked down the device and opened her mouth to reply, when Owen spoke, "Yea actually, I got something, and its definitely not from earth."  
"Great!" Jack boomed, "Well then, lets get back to the hub.  
Gwen frowned, Owen had found something too, could the rift send more than one thing through at a time? Gwen wondered, she would have to remember to ask Jack when she showed him the device she decided.  
Cautiously she bent down and touched it, this time nothing happened, relieved Gwen picked it up and placed it safely in her jacket pocket.  
Somehow they got back to the Hub without Gwen telling the others about the device, she intended to, but felt a good time never came up.  
Gwen had thought Owen's discovery would be similar to hers, but it was completely different.

"What is that?" Tosh asked, bending down to peer into the cage Owen was carrying.  
"Tooth fairy." Jack replied, pulling Tosh back, "Stay away."  
Owen dropped the cage down at his station.  
"Aww, its kinda cute." Gwen said, getting her first proper look at the animal.  
It was the size of a rat, with blue grey skin, and thin leathery wings, it's nose was similar to a bats. It stood on all fours, staring at Gwen.  
"Cute, but deadly." Jack said.  
"Their killers, they hunt in groups to take down large prey, they like to burrow into a creature's stomach, and eat up to the heart. It would take a pack of them less than a minute to kill a person."  
Gwen shuttered and stepped back.  
"Why are they called tooth fairies?"  
Tosh asked.  
Jack grinned. "Because their favourite thing to eat is teeth." He replied.  
Gwen shuttered again, "So what do we do with this one?" She asked.  
Jack sighed, "Only one thing to do, kill it."  
"Jack no!" Gwen squealed.  
"There is nothing else we could do, give it time and it will eat everything, if it survives it could destroy the planet in a couple of years." He replied.  
jack looked at Owen, "Shoot it," he ordered, turning away.  
Owen nodded, he saw there was no point in arguing.  
Gwen moved to follow Jack but Tosh grabbed her arm. "Just let it go, we've all had a long week, nows not the time for confrontation."  
Gwen sighed, she knew Tosh was right, even so she felt bad for the little thing, it hadn't done anything wrong.  
Sadly she retreated back to her desk, wincing when she heard the gunshot.

The rift was quiet for the rest of the day, a welcomed change, giving everyone a chance to rest and get started on paperwork.  
Around 8pm Jack decided the rift had finely calmed down for good, and wouldn't suddenly spike again.  
Owen suggested they go down to the pub, to relax. Everyone agreed to but Gwen, "Too much paperwork." She answered when he asked.  
Gwen knew the others would think she was staying behind because she was still angry about the fairy, but in truth Gwen wanted another look at the thing she found earlier.


	2. Chapter 2

Once the others had left Gwen pulled the device out of her pocket.  
Instantly the lightheaded sensation returned, as well as the tingling in her arm.  
The tingling slowly spread from her arm to the rest of her body.  
Gwen smiled, it felt quite nice, her entire body felt warm and tingly.  
Looking down she saw a blue light shining out of the device, the light seemed to cover her, wrapping around her body, almost like a mist.  
Gwen felt the tingling inside spread out to the skin, she felt it push through, and saw it come out as a grey static like light, completely covering her..  
The grey light rose off her skin, and traveled into the device,  
Gwen was sad to see it leave, she had liked the feeling of it.  
Then the blue light also traveled back into the device, and Gwen's head went back to feeling normal.  
Frowning Gwen pocked and prodded the device, trying to activate it again.  
But no matter what she did the device did not respond, she could not get the lights to return.  
Irritated she rammed it back into her jacket pocket.  
Gwen knew she should tell Jack about it, but something held her back, a voice in the back of her head, reminding her how nice it had felt.  
Gwen hurried out of the Hub before the others returned, not wanting to risk revealing the device.  
By the time she got home she had already decided it had been a bad idea taking the device.  
Gwen vowed to show it to jack as soon as she got to work the next day, before dumping her jacket on a chair and going to bed.

On the other side of Cardiff a shapeless creature stirred, it was an old being that had fallen through the rift many years ago.  
He hid in the shadows of the city, blending into the darkness, watching the city, waiting, hoping one day the rift would bring what it needs.  
He had felt a spark earlier that day, a tiny pull, more of a suggestion than a call, at first he thought he imagined the spark, it was just its old brain playing tricks.  
But then it came again, stronger, a definite signal this time, calling out, looking for the one who could activate it.  
Someone had found what he wanted.

The next morning Gwen awoke to Rhys frantically shaking her shoulders.  
"What?" She groaned, still tired from the days before.  
"Gwen we've been robbed!"  
Gwen shot up."What?" She looked at Rhys "Robbed?"  
He nodded, "I called the police."  
"What did they take?" Gwen asked.  
"Your jewellery, the telly, your clothes-"  
"My clothes?!"  
"Well only a couple of tops and a few pairs of shoes, oh and one of your jackets."  
Gwen's eyes flickered to the chair she had dumped her clothes on last night, the jacket was gone, that meant the device was gone.  
Gwen groaned, Jack was going to kill her when he found out.  
Unless, of course she didn't tell him,  
after all nobody knew she had it, and it wasn't like it did anything interesting. Gwen rationalised with herself.  
The solution was simple, she decided, she wouldn't tell Jack about the device.

After leaving Rhys to deal with a cranky policeman and several nosey neighbours Gwen hurried to the Hub, aware she was already late.  
A fact which Jack was happy to remind her of apon her arrival.  
"Your late." He said frowning.  
"Sorry, I forgot how long it takes the welsh police to actually arrive at the scene of a robbery." She replied.  
Jack frowned, "Did they take anything relating to Torchwood?"  
Gwen shook her head "Luckily I forgot my gun last night."  
"Right, well then get back to work." Jack said, turning away from her.

In an abandoned warehouse not far from the Hub the device Gwen had found began to glow, the grey static pored from it, quickly forming the image of a body, slowly blue light surrounded it, wrapping around the shape, as it did so its colour changed, became fleshy, like skin.  
Finely the device shut off, but the body remained, the empty human body.  
The shapeless alien flowed into it, stretching out, becoming one with the body.  
He opened his new eyes, and felt the corner of his mouth twitch,  
Ah yes, he thought to himself, a smile,  
He had never had a form that could smile before.  
The alien looked down at the new body,  
Yes, he thought, it will do, a pity it couldn't have been a male, he always felt slightly strange inhabiting a female form, but it would suffice for carrying out his plan.


	3. Chapter 3

Gwen winced and sat back in her chair. It had been three weeks sense she had found the strange device, and the rift activity had slowed to a trickle, nothing had happened all day, and Gwen was bored. Her neck and back were sore from sitting at a desk all day. She looked at the clock, it was still an hour before Lunch. She spun her chair around, wondering if she could ask Jack to let her off early. Gwen turned back to her desk, trying to find something to do for the day, when her phone rang. It was the police, saying there had been a complication with paperwork over the robbing, and could she come down to see them. She rushed up to Jack's office to ask for an hour off, he was happy to oblige, in the condition she took her phone with her and kept it on at all times.

Happy to be free Gwen took her time driving to the station, but as soon as she arrived the happiness disappeared, as it seemed everyone at the station was already out at lunch. They would be back soon, the receptionist assured her, and asked her to take a seat, someone would be with her soon.

Near the station stood a figure, hidden in the shadows between buildings. He had been following her, watching her all this time, learning her manner, how she spoke and walked. He was pleased with what he knew, and felt ready to test his knowledge. He watched the station a moment longer, when Gwen did not reappear he moved quickly to the car he had stolen, and hurriedly got in.

He drove as quickly as he dared, he had not had much practice driving, when he was following Gwen it was ok, he just worked on staying behind her, luckily she didn't drive to fast. he was sure he had gotten the hang of it by now, slamming on the breaks seconds before a bus shot out in front of him. He breathed out, human life was proving harder than he expected. The bus moved and he stepped on the gas, barley missing the car behind it.

Finely, after several near crashes he reached his destination. Getting out near the tourist office he noticed his hands where shaking. Strange, he thought, this body seems to respond to how I feel. He shoved his hands into his pockets, and walked towards the hub. As he neared it he slowed his walk, imitating the way Gwen walked.  
He entered the building and looked at the young man behind the desk.  
"Hey Gwen, that was quick." Ianto said smiling at him.  
The creature looked back at him, suddenly nervous,  
"Yes" he stuttered out, feeling his heart pound in his ears. "I forgot... Something." He finished feebly.  
"Oh, well go straight through." Ianto said.  
The creature smiled at him, before quickly turning towards the door at the back of the room. He stepped towards it cursing at himself. He was finding this much harder than expected, all he wanted was to pop in, and see if Gwen's friends would be fooled into thinking it was her. it was the body, he decided, he didn't like it one bit, surly he shouldn't be able to hear the heart beating? And his hands, he looked down in horror, they where covered in sweat.  
He rushed in, deciding to get this over as quickly as possible. He hurried to the unoccupied desk he assumed was hers, and was relieved to see her stuff on it.  
"Hey Gwen, done already?" Jack asked, noticing him.  
The creature looked up, "Um no, just heading out to lunch, only I... Wanted to pick up this!" He held up Gwen's gun triumphantly. "Incase I needed it."  
"Oh ok." Jack replied, giving him a funny look.  
"Oh well I'll just be off then!" The creature turned and hurried out, the second he was out of sight he broke into a run, sprinting back to his car and vowing not to do that again until he was certain he could. He pulled out quickly, intending to find Gwen and continue following her.

He was about half way to the station when he miscalculated a turn, shot up onto the pavement and into the cafe nearby. He herd himself scream, such a feminine scream he thought, before smashing through the cafe window and into the counter.  
Slowly the creature opened his eyes. The body was alive, he grinned, the body had survived the crash, ok, so not without harm he admitted, the glass from the windshield had done a bit of damage.  
He grinned, a strange feeling filled him, one of, happiness? Relief? He wasn't sure, his kind did not name emotions. A scream nearby brought his mind back to reality, he was sitting in a busted car inside a cafe, this was not good. Hurriedly he shoved open the door and ran.

It was late when Gwen finally made it out of the police office. She looked at her watch and sighed, she'd missed lunch. Gwen got a burger from a takeout nearby and ate it in the car on her way back. She passed a wreak on the way, some poor fellow had slid off the road and into a building. Gwen felt a pang of sorrow as she remembered all the times as a copper she had showed up at a similar scene to find a dead body.  
She hoped in this case no one had been seriously injured.

When Gwen got back to the hub she found it almost deserted, only Jack remained. "Hey where is everyone?" She asked, walking into his office.  
Jack looked up surprised,  
"Oh I sent everyone home, the rift isn't doing anything and everyone was getting restless."  
"Oh right, well I'll just be off then."  
Gwen said, backing up towards the door.  
"Right, see you tomorrow."  
Jack watched her leave, noticing how she hurried to get out of the building.

He was tired and sore. He had done his best to patch up the bodies wounds, they where nothing major. However once he was satisfied the body was ok a larger problem presented its self. He was lost. In a part of the city he'd never been to, his clothes were ripped and filthy, and the body was screaming at him that it needed rest.  
He dragged it on, looking for a place to stay, he had money, stolen money, but money nonetheless. Stumbling past an alleyway he heard a drunken voice call out.  
"Hey, loooovely, what choo doing out 'ere?" He turned to face the man, a stupid drunk, barely standing, who leered at him. He noticed how the man was staring at the bodies chest, and felt a great anger well up inside him.  
Who was this man, this waist of life, this pathetic excuse of a being who dared approach him? He had seen things this man couldn't even imagine, he had fought wars across the stars, he had met kings, he had been a king! And yet this weak, feeble human dared to speak in his presence? His fingers remembered the gun, they drew it from its holder.  
He was pleased to see the man step back at the sight of it, he would pay for his mistake. The creature clicked off the safety, watching the man stutter and beg. With cold determination he stepped forward and pulled the trigger.  
He felt surprisingly calm as he watched the man fall, as though all his anger had been used up performing that one act. Turning sharply from the body he began to walk, he knew he had to put as much room between him and the remains as possible, and he still didn't know where he was.  
The creature wandered aimlessly for a while, on the look out for anything he recognised, and finally he saw something. The young man from the tourist centre, he had changed out of a suit into jeans and a T-shirt, and had a bag of takeout tucked under one arm. He followed the man carefully, should he risk it he wondered. This man knew Gwen, surely he would help her, or at least who he though was her. But it wasn't safe, how would he explain his appearance? And if he did ask for help the man might mention it to the real Gwen. Unless, of course he made sure the man didn't speak to Gwen. Yes, he thought, he still had the device with him, and he would quite like to return to a male form.  
Grinning he straitened out his bra and walked towards Ianto.


	4. Chapter 4

The creature hurried to catch up with Ianto. "Hey, hey wait!" He called out, catching Ianto's arm. Ianto spun around surprised. "'Gwen'? What are you doing here?"  
"Oh I was out for a walk and got lost, you can imagine my relief when I saw you!"  
Ianto frowned, "You walked all this way? Well I could give you a lift back if you like..."  
"Oh no,no no no, Rhys is having a guys night tonight, I can't go home.  
" I can drop you off at a hotel then, there is a nice one near my place."  
"Oh that won't work, I have no money, and never really liked hotels anyway. " He moved closer to Ianto, brushing against his side. "I can't go to a hotel or home, what shall I do?"  
Ianto looked uncomfortable, "I could lend you the money for a hotel room if you like."  
"Oooh I couldn't do that to you, much to much bother, I just need a spot to sleep, not a whole room."  
"Well, I guess... you could have my coach for a night."  
"Yes! Oh that would be wonderful, your to kind,"  
Ianto forced a smile, "It's just this way."

The walk took no more than 5 minutes. Ianto unlocked the his door and stepped aside to let' Gwen' in. He watched 'her' look around his small apartment, confused by the interest she was showing. He shut the door and placed the food on the table.  
He turned to see 'Gwen' take a particularly large book from the shelf. 'She' turned and walked towards him smiling. Ianto smiled back the best he could, "Would you like a drink?"  
'Gwen's' smile became a grin, and 'she' smashed the book against his head.

Ianto winced and opened his eyes. He blinked a few times to bring the room into focus. He was in his bedroom, tied tightly to the frame of the bed, with a gag stuffed in his mouth, and standing across the room he saw... himself. Ianto frowned, the figure looked exactly like him, apart from the fact they were dressed in Gwen's clothes. The figure removed a suit from Ianto's wardrobe. They glimpsed over at him. "You know, I think I'll take up your offer for the coach," It sounded like him, and Ianto realised as it turned and walked out of the room that it moved like him.

Ianto stared after it, a sinking feeling growing in his stomach. It was obvious that whatever that was wasn't human, it was clearly some form of shape shifter, pretending to be Gwen first, and now him. There was one thing he didn't understand, why was he still alive? Why hadn't it killed him? Surely that way it could insure Ianto didn't get loose and bother it, however apart from the throbbing in his head, he felt fine.

The creature dropped back onto Ianto's coach, rather pleased with himself. Things where working out rather well now, and he liked the new body, it still had all the annoying human flaws, but at least he could loose the bloody bra he'd had to wear as Gwen, he rather liked suits. Smiling he settled down to sleep, after all, he did have work in the morning.

Gwen Cooper scowled, storming into the Hub. "Alright I'm here," she snapped, "What do you want?"  
Sense 6am Jack had been filling her cell with texts, all demanding she got in there right away, no explanation or mention of Torchwood related happenings, just a summoning.  
Jack scowled back at her,  
"I'd rather like an explanation Gwen."  
"For what?"  
"For why you drove a stolen car into a cafe, killing a person and severely wounding six others!"  
Gwen opened and closed her mouth a few times, unsure what to say. "Why I what?"  
"Drove. A. Car. Into. A. Cafe. Window."  
"I didn't." She squeaked.  
"Well that's strange, your fingerprints where found all over the car, as was some of your blood, not to mention all the eye witnesses report seeing a women practically identical to you fleeing the scene."  
"When?"  
"Before lunch time, when you where out."  
"I was at the station!" Gwen protested. "Call them and see."  
"I will," Jack answered, "But until I have this sorted your not leaving the Hub."  
"But Jack-"  
"No! Your wanted for manslaughter Gwen, this is serious, you say you didn't do it, but the evidence suggests otherwise, you are not to leave the hub until I say you can!"  
Gwen lowered her head defeated. "I didn't do it."  
Jack softened slightly, "Alright Gwen, I believe you, but we still have to find out what did happen.


	5. Chapter 5

Gwen stumped down at her desk, she was having an awful morning. Tensions were running high in the Hub, Jack had spent the morning yelling down the phone line, Tosh was going through all the police information on the crash, occasionally she would look up and frown at Gwen, Owen had spent the morning complaining about the lack of coffee available in the Hub, due to the fact Ianto hadn't arrived yet.  
Everyone seemed to be suffering from caffeine withdrawal, Gwen even offered to go out and buy some before Jack reminded her she couldn't leave the Hub.

Gwen sighed, and tried to distract herself by flicking through local news reports, checking for anything that could be alien related. She jumped when the cog door swung open and Ianto strolled in.  
"Ianto, your late!" Jack barked at him.  
Ianto looked up surprised. Was he late? The creature wondered, this was the normal time Gwen arrived, he had assumed it would be the same for his new body. "Sorry Sir, I overslept." He shot Jack a smile, mentally kicking himself for the lame excuse.  
Jack frowned at him. "Make sure it doesn't happen again."  
"Yes Sir."  
"Hey Tea boy! How bout some coffee?" Owen called over from his station looking hopeful.  
Ianto hesitated for a second before answering, "Of course, right away."  
He turned slowly towards the coffee machine and hurried off.

The creature found himself standing in front of the coffee machine, luckily there had been one back at the apartment for him to fiddle with, and he had found an instructions manual in one of the draws.  
He had spent long enough with Gwen to figure out what she would want, and she had gone out for coffee with the Asian one, but he had no clue what the two men would want to drink. In the end he decided to make them all the same thing and claim they were out of everything else.  
By the end of the coffee round the creature had managed to find out Jack and Owens usual order, feeling proud of himself he headed up to the tourist office.

Gwen sipped her coffee, studying Jack over the rim of her mug. He looked ready to murder whoever was on the other end of the phone, clearly his chat with the police station was not going well.  
"No you may not take her in for questioning! Torchwood is dealing with it!" He bellowed down the line.  
Gwen felt a sense of relief sweep over her, as much as she didn't like being stuck in the Hub it was better than jail, she really would owe Jack after this, after all it would have been easier on him if he had handed her over to the police.  
Jack slammed down the phone, muttering to himself.  
"Um Jack? Your probably going to want to see this." Tosh spoke, startling Gwen.

Jack walked over to Toshiko,  
"What is it?"  
She moved aside and motioned at the computer screen. Jack lent over and studied it for a few minutes, frowning. Finally he sighed and stepped back.  
"What's going on?" Gwen asked, worried.  
"A man named Craig Thomson was shot around eleven pm yesterday, he died before anyone found him."  
Gwen sighed, "Poor guy, what's he got to do with us?"  
"The bullet," Jack replied. "It's been identified as a kind only Torchwood use."  
"Oh,"  
Jack sighed again, "That's not all, dried blood was found near the victim, the shooters blood, your blood Gwen."  
"Mine?!"  
"Yours, same as with the car."  
Gwen felt a chill in her bones, "I didn't do it Jack, I was at home all last night with Rhys."  
Jack didn't reply, instead he turned away and grabbed the phone again.

Half an hour later Ianto returned baring more coffee.  
"Thanks Ianto!" Gwen said smiling, then an idea hit her, "Hey, do you think I could take Jacks up to him?"  
"Sure." Ianto said, handing her the extra cup. As Gwen watched him leave a strange feeling came over her, she couldn't help feeling something was wrong with Ianto, he had sounded almost relieved when she offered to take Jack's cup. She shook it off, she was just being paranoid she decided.  
Gwen quickly headed up to Jack's office. Jack looked up in surprise when she entered, shooting her a forced smile.  
"How's it looking?" She asked, placing the mug onto the desk.  
"Not good." Jack sighed, "I talked to the police station, but the crash happened after you had left, so you don't have an alibi for that, and Rhys says he was sound asleep before you came home, and doesn't have a clue if you were home at 11 or not." He sighed and ran his fingers though his hair. "Right now it looks like you would have been able to commit both crimes, and the evidence is most definitely against you."  
"I don't know how that is, I didn't do either of those things, and yet my blood and finger prints were found there, I truly don't understand how."  
Jack patted her had reassuringly, "Don't worry Gwen, we will work this out."  
The rest of the day passed without any new developments. When it reached home time Gwen shot up, happy to finally be free. But Jack shook his head, "No Gwen, you can't leave until this is sorted."  
"But Jack, you can't really expect me to sleep here!"  
Jack sighed, "Yes Gwen, I do. Don't worry, I'll stay to keep you company."  
"But Rhys!"  
"I've already let him know what's happening." Speaking loader he said "everyone else can go!" The other two who had been watching Gwen and Jack with interest instantly rushed towards the exit.  
"Someone let Ianto he's free to leave!" Jack called after them.

Ianto was having a dreadful day. Whoever that thing was it knew how to tie bloody good knots, he had spent hours tugging at his restraints, but non of them gave. To make matters worse his headache had developed into a full out throbbing migraine, his muscles ached from being locked in the same position all day, his mouth was dry and tasted like something had died in it, and he really needed to go to the bathroom.  
Once he had come to terms with the fact he couldn't get up the boredom had hit him. He had taken to staring at his alarm clock, watching the minutes of his life fly by.  
The normal time he got home came and went, and a new wave of fear filled Ianto. What if it was never coming back? It had left him to starve, or it was lost, unable to find its way back, or, dread clutched his heart, it could be at the Hub, spending the night with Jack. No! Ianto told himself, Jack would realise it wasn't him, he would figure it out, wouldn't he?


	6. Chapter 6

Ianto's ears pricked up when he finally heard his apartment door open. He heard someone slam the door shut and stumble down the hallway. His bedroom door flew open and the creature stood, staring at him.  
It looked a mess, suit crumpled and stained, tie undone and dangling around his neck. He was clutching a water bottle in his hand. The creature threw its self at the bed, landing on Ianto's legs. Giggling he rolled over and sat up.  
Ianto was hit by the stench of alcohol. The creature lent over and dragged the gag down, out of Ianto's mouth. He rammed the water bottle into Ianto's mouth. Ianto coughed and spluttered causing most of the water to go down his chest. However Enough of it made it into his mouth to quench his thirst, and get rid of the horrible taste in his mouth. Once the bottle was empty the creature shoved the gag back into his mouth.  
The creature sat back and gave Ianto a lop sided grin.  
"Better?" He asked. He paused for a minute before nodding as though Ianto had replied.  
"I'll bring you more tomorrow morning, and maybe something to eat. But only if I'm feeling nice." He giggled. "You'd better hope I'm feeling nice, just cause I can't kill you yet doesn't mean I can't starve you."  
He paused and studied Ianto. "Your body's alright you know." He said, poking Ianto in the chest. "That girl at the pub seemed to like it." He grinned. "I liked her, she knew how to kiss. Do you have a girl friend? Well I guess if you did she would be mine now."  
"You know what I need to do? I need to research your life some more. Before work tomorrow, I'll find out all there is to know about Ianto Jones!"  
He frowned.  
"Oh god, listen to me, don't I talk after a few beers, I'm probably boring you."  
Clumsily the creature stood up.  
"I'm taking your couch again!" He shouted stumbling out of the room.  
The creature returned briefly the next morning to give Ianto another drink, and find a new suit, before leaving for the day.

The creature strode towards work on a new high, this morning, after getting rid of a splitting headache he had taken another look around the apartment, and to his joy he had found Ianto's diary. With a skip in his step he walked into the Hub and was greeted by Jack and Gwen's tired faces.  
"Coffee?" He asked cheerfully.  
Both nodded, giving a relieved smile.  
The creature hummed to himself as he made the coffee, jumping slightly when he heard the other two arrive.  
Once the coffee round was done he snuck away to the tourist office, feeling very pleased with himself.

Gwen had nothing to do. She wasn't aloud to leave the Hub, and Jack wouldn't let her help with the investigation into the shooting and car crash. All her paperwork was done, there where no new police reports to look at. She was bored.  
Gwen spun her chair around staring at the ceiling. All she wanted was something to do.  
Spin,  
She was going crazy.  
Spin, spin.  
Boooooored  
Spin, spin spin spin.  
"Tosh, Owen with me!" Jacks voice surprised her.  
"Going out?" She asked, grabbing her desk to stop her chair.  
Jack nodded, "Large rift spike needs investigating." He gave her a small smile and took off out the door.  
Gwen went back to spinning.  
Once round, twice round...  
She made it round 120 times before she was so bored she couldn't stand it, and got up to look for something to do.

Gwen wandered aimlessly for a while. After a little bit she heard Ianto come down to make some more coffee and wandered over to have a chat. She paused when she got closer to him, she could her whistling. She could have sworn Ianto never whistled. She peered over at him.  
"Hey Ianto!"  
"...hi Gwen"  
"So how are things? Anything existing going on in your life?"  
"Not at the moment."  
"Oh."  
"Can I get you anything Gwen?"  
"Oh I just came for a chat."  
He handed her a cup of coffee.  
Gwen smiled at him and took the mug.  
Ianto smiled back and turned slightly to pick up another cup. Gwen went to move passed him, there wasn't much room. One of her jacket buttons caught in his pocket, causing Gwen to trip up, she grabbed onto Ianto' to stabilise herself and wound up dragging him down too.  
The two crashed down on top of each other, Gwen heard a clang as something metal hit the floor. Ianto quickly got up, and helped Gwen up  
onto her feet.  
"Thanks." Gwen dusted herself off when something on the ground caught her eye. She bent down and grabbed it.  
"Oh hey, I think you dropped... This"  
Gwen stared at the thing in her hands, she recognised it. It was the device that had been stolen from her apartment.  
"Ianto how did you get this?"  
"Get what?" Ianto had a strange expression on his face.  
"This." Gwen held it up for him to see.  
"Where did you get this?"  
Ianto stared at her for a moment before replying in a very quite voice.  
"I've never seen that before."  
"What do you mean?! It fell out of your pocket! How the hell did it get into your pocket!?"  
Ianto took a step back. "I think you need to calm down."  
"You... You broke into my flat!"  
"Gwe-"  
"You bastard! You broke into my flat and robbed me!"  
Gwen felt anger bubble up inside her. Her arm shot out, sending an object flying into Ianto's head. It took her a second to work out what she had thrown, the empty coffee cup. It smashed into the side of his head.

Blood squirted everywhere, Gwen watched him stare at it with a dazzled expression before she launched herself at him.  
Gwen's body slammed into him, causing both of them to fall against the wall. His head snapped back, smashing against the wall. He let out a soft moan before sinking down unconscious.


	7. Chapter 7

Gwen stared down at the unconscious man with a look of pure hatred. She grasped one of the shards of broken glass, not feeling the pain as it cut into her fingers. she began smashing it into Ianto's head, fuelled by an anger so strong it scared her. She wasn't sure why, but suddenly all she wanted to do was kill. She brought the shard down hard against his head, grinning at the blood pouring out of his wounds.  
Suddenly rough hands grabbed her, yanking her up, off him. She let out a deep throaty scream, trying to swing round and attack whoever was holding her.  
The world had be come a hazy red, she could hear someone talking, no screaming at her, telling her to stop, but they sounded far away, distant. Another voice called out, this one was in her head, instructing her, urging her to kill. It filled her mind until it was all she could hear.  
Kill, kill, kill!  
She struck out wildly, not caring who she hit. Something grasped her wrists, she felt as the device was ripped out of her grip. A scream echoed in her head, then suddenly the world cleared.  
The hatred and anger left her head, her vision cleared, she felt drained, as though the source of her energy had dissapered. she let her self go slack, falling back against whoever was holding her.

"What the hell Gwen?!"  
Jack was holding her tightly, so that she couldn't move. She saw Owen in front of her,kneeling beside Ianto. The device lay on the floor between them.  
Shakily she spoke "Ianto... He robbed me."  
"So you tried to kill him!?"  
"No! I... I just... I don't know. I don't know what happened, it came over me so quickly, this want to... To kill"  
"To kill Ianto?"  
"Anyone, everyone, but... it's gone now."  
Jack was silent for a second, "Ok Gwen, I'm going to put you in a cell alright? I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to put you down there so we can sort this out without anything else happening."  
"You can't- no actually you can." Gwen sighed, she felt so tired now.  
"Alright Jack, you can let go of me, I'll come quietly."  
"Good." Jack let her go, keeping a hand on her shoulder. He guided her down to the cells.  
By the time they arrived Gwen was feeling a lot better. Her energy had returned, and she felt surprisingly calm, as though all her troubles had flouted away.

The creature opened his eyes wincing. A bright light shone down on his face. Slowly he turned his head away from the light, standing with his back to him was Owen. A wave of dread flooded the creature, how long had he been unconscious? had he been discovered? Did they know?  
Owen turned around and offered him a small smile.  
"Your awake! About time."  
"Wha-"  
"You should be ok, you got a pretty nasty gash on you head I stitched up, as well as a concussion. No internal bleeding as far as I can tell, so as long as you take it easy for a month your head should heal completely."  
The creature shot him a smile.  
"Thanks, and Gwen?"  
"Down in a cell until we work out what happened, Jack reckons that thing she was holding might have something to do with it, Tosh is running some scans now. You don't know anything about it do you?"  
The creature tried to shake his head and grimaced at the pain.  
"Nothing, I'd never seen it before."  
Owen nodded, "And Gwen didn't say anything about it?"  
"Nothing"  
"Darn, a well, I'll let Jack know, you go home and rest."  
"Go home?"  
"Yep, you smashed your head pretty bad, you need to rest, take tomorrow morning off as well."  
The creature frowned, thinking for a minute before shooting Owen a small smile.  
"All right, will you let Jack know I've gone home?"  
"Of course." Owen answered helping Him get up onto his feet.

The creature slowly headed back to Ianto's apartment, trying to workout what to do. He needed to get the device back, but he wasn't sure how he was going to do that. The others would be keeping an eye on it, trying to work out what it was. He'd have to wait until they where all out of the Hub, if there was a really big rift spike they would all leave. But that could take days. He frowned, he needed the device now, not in a few days.  
An idea hit him, what if he made something happen, an alien attack, something that would make them leave. But what? What could he do?  
Gwen. He could let Gwen out, they would rush down to contain her, he would take the device.  
No, that wouldn't work, Gwen wouldn't cause a threat without the device, and they would notice it was missing, unless... A plan began to form in his mind. He spun the wheel and drove away from the flat.

The creature pulled up before a small abandoned building, he had been here before, when he didn't have a body. Stepping out of the car he checked Ianto's gun was loaded, and slowly up the building. It had been a general store once, with a house up above, but had been shut for almost 20 years. The door wasn't locked, so he stepped inside. The first room was old and musty, he crossed the space quickly, hurrying up the stairs. At the top there was three rooms, he entered the smallest. It was filled with unmarked crates, there small makeshift bed In the corner.  
A hunched figure was resting on the bed. It was covered in a thick blanket, and had a vaguely human shape.  
He walked to the figure standing before it, and coughed ever so quietly. It raised its three eyes to his.  
"G-good dday sir, an-d wha, what c, can I d-do fffor y-ou?"  
"I need baxdon weed,"  
It lowered its head.  
"Haven't got any! Haven't got any!"  
The creature let out an angry grunt and grabbed the figure, yanking it up against the wall.  
"Oh I think you do, and you'd better give it to me. Unless," he raised a single eyebrow "You'd rather end up like the last guy who lived here?"  
"Noooo, nooo. I got some! I got some!"  
"Good." He let go of the figure and stepped back. It hurried off the bed and to one of the crates. After a few minuets of searching it returned with a small brown paper bag. Tentatively it held the bag out to him. He grabbed it and inspected its belongings before nodding sharply and exiting the room.  
"P-payment!" It called after him. "W-what a,abou-t payment?"  
He smiled slightly, turned and fired a shot directly above its head. It whimpered and sunk back into its room.

Ianto jumped when he heard the door open, it was early afternoon, no one should be home now. He heard someone, the creature he assumed, moving around the apartment.  
A little while later his bedroom door swung open, the creature walked quickly to him, and removing the gag gave Ianto a drink. Ianto noticed the water had a slightly sweet taste, but was so thirsty he drank it anyway.  
Once he was done the creature replaced the gag and stepped back watching him.. Ianto frowned, what did it want now? All of the sudden his vision began to blur, his head spinning he felt his mind slipping away into the darkness. It happened too fast to fight it. One moment he was fine, the next he was gone.


	8. Chapter 8

The creature quietly entered the Hub, he had deactivated the alarms, and it was early enough that only Jack and Gwen would be there. Glimpsing up at Jacks office he hurried to Tosh's computer. He erased the footage of him entering the Hub, and set the cameras to play a loop showing the hub empty for the next half an hour.  
Moving as fast as he dared he rushed to where the device lay, and gently scooped it up and tucked it away into his pocket. in its place he put down a modified C.D. From up close it looked nothing like the device, but it was just the right size and shape someone watching the CCTV would mistake it for the device, as hopefully Gwen would.  
Painfully aware of the time he hurried downstairs to Gwen's cell. The creature was surprised and pleased to see Gwen was already awake.  
She was sitting on the bench in the cell, staring at the opposite wall with a far off expression on her face.  
"Hey Gwen."  
She looked up, startled. "Ianto?"  
"I felt bad, you being stuck down here all night, so I brought you some coffee." He opened the door and held out a thermos for her.  
She frowned at it. "Thanks" She said, tentatively reaching out and grabbing it. "Why's it in a flask?"  
"I made it at home, you smashed the one in the Hub yesterday."  
She nodded slowly and carefully unscrewed the lid. Slightly suspicious she examined the liquid. It looked and smelled like coffee. Gwen took a small sip, and smiled at the familiar taste. Thirstily she gulped the rest of the coffee before handing the thermos back to him.  
She noticed he was grinning now, and opened her mouth to ask him why he was so happy. Her world went fuzzy, her vision darkened and her head began to spin. She fell against the wall, struggling to think straight.  
She faintly heard the door close and footsteps fade away as he left.

Gwen stumbled around her cell shaking her head, trying to clear it. Suddenly it was clear, at least she thought it was clear, it seemed that way. Gwen straightened up and looked around her, where am I?she wondered. She saw an alien holding cell, the walls where green and slimy, a small bench jutted out from one of the walls, it was bright pink and pulsating. She backed away from it and hit the door. Gwen looked at the door in interest, it was made of strong glass, yet she felt she could brake it. Gwen through herself at the door, crashing into it, pain shot up her arm, but nothing else happened. She smashed into it again, this time she felt the glass creak under her weight. Smash, a crack appeared. Smash, the crack widened, smash, the glass gave way and she tumbled out into a dark musty alien corridor.

The creature glimpsed at the car clock and felt his lips form a smile, he was surprised at how natural the action felt now, remembering how strange it had been at first. He had, he realised, begun to settle into this body, being human felt almost normal. He looked again at the clock, Gwen should be feeling the full affects of his potion now, that is if he got the amounts right, it was a tricky thing to do. He needed it to take at least 20 minutes to fully control the person, but still strengthen them to the point they can break through bullet proof glass. That was why he had tested it on the human male first, he winced, remembering the events of last night. It was good he had tested it before giving it to Gwen, his first batch had been much to strong..

Gwen ran wildly down the corridor, clutching throbbing arm. She stumbled madly through the alien maze, determined to find her way out. Finally she burst into a large room she recognised. Gwen knew she was near the exit. The room was the aliens information base, it was huge, with thick green walls. A blue pillar was in the centre, covered in pulsing pink veins. There where several desk like features in the room, Gwen knew each one contained all the information about one of the hostages aboard the alien space ship. She ran to hers, planing to destroy it.

Jacks eyes flicked open, he could here someone moving around the Hub. Instantly his body went into attack mode, he leapt up and grabbed his gun which lay near by. Quietly he approached his office door, and silently pulled it open. Keeping low and moving quickly he hurried out, his eyes flicking around the Hub, searching for the threat. It didn't take him long to spot a figure angrily smashing at Gwen's desk. He jumped forward towards the figure, pointing his gun at them.  
"Freeze!" They looked up, startled, and let out an inhuman growl, backing away from Jack. He froze for a second in shock, staring at them.  
"Gwen?"

Gwen stared up at the hideous alien, with its large bug eyes, it almost looked like a massive fly, buzzing angrily at her. She turned and ran, sprinting towards the exit, as she did so she noticed one of the other desks had a familiar item on it. She wasn't sure what it was, but she knew she wanted it. Gwen grabbed the thing and kept running. She heard a bang and felt something graze her leg. The alien was shooting at her! Gwen screamed as she smashed through the door, frantically running through the building until she burst out into the morning light. Looking around she realised she was on the alien observation deck, a railing was in fount of her. Grasping it she peered down, all she saw was darkness, but Gwen knew somewhere down there was earth, her home. She heard a cry behind her as she threw herself over the railing, and down into the waters below.

Jack screamed as he watched her fall, sprinting to the railing and desperately grasping at the air, as though he could reach her. Staring down he searched the water for some sign of her, waiting for Gwen to come up for air. Nothing happened, he gave her another moment, willing her to appear, before following her into the freezing water.

Gwen was thrown around, the second she had entered the water an underwater current had grabbed her, whisking her away, underwater. He world was twisted upside down, she wasn't sure were the surface was anymore. The water pushed and shoved her, battering her already sore body. Occasionally she would be pushed up, her head would break the surface and she would gulp down a mouthful of air before being dragged under again. The water ripped into her skin, it grasped the device, ripping it from her hand. Gwen wasn't sure for how long she was in the water, at some moments it felt like seconds, at others hours. Finally she hit something, hard. A wooden post, a dock post. Grabbing hold she clung to the post, pulling herself up through the water.  
With a gasp Gwen propelled herself out of the water, clinging to the dock, coughing and gasping for breath. She sucked down the air and sat up, looking around. The potion had worn off while she was in the water, her vision had returned to normal. Gwen way alone on the dock, it was still too early for most people to be around, and the weather was wrong for fishing. Gwen stood up and hurried off, heading home.

Jack thrashed wildly in the water, desperately looking for Gwen.  
"No," he whispered scrambling out of the water. He sat there staring at the water. "No." He repeated louder. He had failed, Gwen was gone, drowned. He watched the swirling water, a ball of sorrow growing in his stomach. "No, no no no!" Jack gasped, he had failed Gwen, he could have saved her, if he was faster, if he hadn't paused, if his shot hadn't missed. The ball burst, the sorrow swarmed out, filling him. Anger flared up inside him. With a growl he stood up, he needed to get away, go somewhere peaceful, safe, he needed to leave Gwen's death bed. Running madly he took off, not sure where he was going..


	9. Chapter 9

_Short chapter sorry, I just want to split it here or the next one will be mega long, upload again in a few days._  
_Thank you everyone who has read and reviewed!_

Jack wandered aimlessly for a while, trying to work out how Gwen had gotten out, and why she had dived into the water. He wandered past a shop window and got a glimpse of their clock. Cursing he turned away, it was late enough that the others would be arriving now, and he had no way to contact them. His phone had been in his pocket when he dived into the water, and was now dead.  
At least, he reminded himself, he was fully dressed, well except for his coat. He had decided to sleep in his clothes incase he had to leap up and check on Gwen. He groaned, shaking some of the water from his hair. Owen, Tosh and Ianto would be at work by now, they would find Gwen and him missing and think... He frowned, he wasn't sure what they would think, they would worry, he knew that. Jack shook his head and looked around, he recognised the area, it was quite near Ianto's flat. Ianto! Of course, he had the morning off, he could call the others from Ianto's apartment, and tell them... His shoulders slouched again, he would have to tell them about Gwen. Regardless Ianto's flat did sound rather appealing, dry clothes, something to eat, some of Ianto's fantastic coffee. It was decided, Jack set off at a fast jog towards Ianto's apartment.

Gwen sighed, she was sitting in the Hub, at Owen's station. Rhys had driven her after she had collapsed on their doorstep, freezing cold and exhausted. Owen had checked her over, and warmed here up. Now he was frowning at her blood test.  
"What's wrong?" She asked.  
He looked at her, "there are traces of something in your blood, I don't recognise it," he handed it to Tosh, "Do you know anything about this?"  
She shook her head, "I'll see if we have any information on it." She turned and walked to her computer.  
Gwen watched her nervously. A few minutes later she called over to them, "Found it." Owen and Gwen walked over to see.  
"It's the juice of a alien root, it takes over the drinkers mind, giving them strange visions, and inhuman strength."  
Gwen shuttered, remembering the strange things she had seen.  
"It is meant to make the drinker feel completely alone and trapped, however often drinks will reach out for something they remember making them happy." Tosh continues. "In their deranged state they will grab onto anything which resembles an item that makes them feel good."  
"The device." Gwen said quietly. "I grabbed the device because it made me feel happy."  
Tosh nodded, "I think the device it's self may have also had something to do with it, I didn't finish all my scans, but one of the ones I did complete showed the device was letting out a chemical that activates the addiction part of your brain, I would rather like to run some more scans."  
Gwen sighed, "It's gone now, I dropped it."  
Tosh nodded sadly,  
"Any luck contacting Jack?" Owen asked Tosh. She shook her head, "His phone isn't going through, if he had it on him it would have died when he jumped into the water."  
Owen sighed, "alright, keep trying to find him, Gwen, I want to run a few more tests, then we should figure out how the juice got into your blood in the first place." He said turning away, Gwen followed him quietly mulling over everything that had happened that morning.

Ianto winced and opened his eyes. His body was bound by thick metal chains, and he appeared to be in the bathroom. In the bathtub, the full bathtub. Looking around he realised what a mess the place was in, the door was open so he could see out into the hallway, his house had been trashed. Faint memories surfaced, he remembered thinking he was caged in a zoo, and one of the keepers was chasing him. He shook his head, that didn't make any sense. He heard someone humming, and saw the creature walk into the hallway, he appeared to be trying to clean up the mess. He spotted Ianto and frowned.  
"You ruined your house you know." He said in a sing song voice. "Not that it matters, I'll only need it for a few more days, once the device is fully charged I'll get a new place."  
He walked off, leaving Ianto wondering what the hell was going on.


	10. Chapter 10

The creature moved around the apartment humming. He was in a rather good mood, everything was starting to work out, he had the device, Gwen was gone, things where going his way. Carefully he stated to clean up the shattered glass when the door bell surprised him.  
He froze, then slowly stood and walked to the door. Carefully he opened it and gasped at the site of the soaking man on the doorstep.  
"Jack?!"  
Jack gave him a desperate look. "Can I come in?"  
No! The creatures mind screamed, but he knew if he turned Jack down it could make him suspicious.  
"Of course." He stepped aside.  
Jack sunk down onto Ianto's coach, appearing not to notice the damage. He let out a broken sob. The creature watched him with disgust, great, another complication, what was he going to do with this pathetic oaf? Oh god, was he crying? Tears, another useless human feature.  
He sighed, this man was Ianto's lover right? So he should do something, try and help.  
"What's wrong Jack?"  
Jack looked up at him, "Gwen..." He rasped "Gwen's dead, and it was my fault.."  
The creature stared at him, trying to work out what the right reaction would be. Jack mistook his silence for shock. "I mean it's not definite, maybe she didn't drown, maybe she survived." A look of hope came over his face. "I mean I didn't actually see her body, I have to use your phone! Call the others, get people looking for her!"  
The creature was startled by his sudden enthusiasm, and reluctantly handed him Ianto's phone.  
Jack grabbed it and quickly dialled Owen. Jack began blabbering away into the phone, when the creature was distracted by a thumping noise from down the hall.  
Ianto, Dam, he could here everything, and was trying to get Jack's attention. This could be bad, this could be very bad. Glimpsing down the hall, He wondered if he could sneak off, go shut Ianto up. A load yelp from Jack made him jump, his head snapped round to where Jack was jumping around happily, still on the phone.  
"Of course Owen, we'll be right there!" He said grinning. He paused, listening, and his grin faded slightly. "Understood." He said, shutting the phone and looking at the creature.

"They found Gwen, she's fine." Jack said.  
Shit  
"Oh? That's great news!"  
"I told Owen we would head straight to the Hub."  
"Good idea, just let me grab my keys."  
Jack nodded, frowning as he had his first proper look around the place. "Ianto, what happened?" He motioned at the mess surrounding them.  
"Oh that? I just had a tiny accident, nothing to worry about."  
Jacks frown deepened. "What kind of accident?"  
"It doesn't matter, really, we should get going sir."  
Jack started slowly making his way down the hall, examining the damage.  
"Really," the creature grasped his arm. "The others will expect us back soon.."  
"They can wait a few minutes." Jack replied, pulling his arm free, and continuing down the hall. He had almost reached the bathroom and was about to look in when the creature called out. "Please Jack, leave it, for me?"  
Jack gave him a funny look and stepped round into the bathroom.  
He froze in shock, he wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but Ianto chained and gaged in the bath tub definitely wasn't it. He heard a footstep behind him and raised his gun. "Freeze."  
The creature stopped. "I can explain."  
Jack looked at the creature, and then back at Ianto. Moving slowly he walked towards the bath tub, keeping his gun on the creature. Leaning over slightly, he yanked the gag out of Ianto's mouth. He glimpsed at the chains, then straitened up and stared at the creature. "Unchain him." He demanded.  
The creature moved slowly passed him, and carefully undid Ianto's chains.  
"Help him up."  
The creature did so, pulling Ianto out of the bath onto his feet. Ianto couldn't stand on his own, so the creature had to support him, he grunted under the young mans weight. Jack motioned for him to walk out of the bathroom. "To the car." He instructed, walking behind the creature, keeping his gun pointed at his head. Slowly the three of them made their way to Ianto's car, pausing so Jack could grab the keys on the way.

The creature drove them to the Hub, jack sat in the passenger seat with his gun in his hand, Ianto had passed out in the back. The creatures mind was wiring, he had to find a way out without loosing the body, he would survive a bullet to the head, but the body would die, and he would have no way of keeping the device. He glanced at the man sitting next to him,  
Shit Jack looked pissed. Okay, maybe starving Ianto hadn't been his best idea, but he could work with this, he could say... That he was the real one. He frowned, could he do it? How would he explain the real Ianto? They were almost at the Hub, the creature groaned, he didn't have a better idea, it looked like he would just have to go with it, say he was real, Ianto was the imposter.

He stopped the car, Jack got out first, keeping the gun on him. He slowly slid out, watching Jack.  
"Get him out." Jack said, pointing to the back seat. The creature slowly opened the door and lent into the car, making sure all Jack could see was his back, quickly he slipped the device out of his pocket and into Ianto's, before carefully lifting the young man out of the car. Slowly the three of them made their way into the Hub.  
Owen jumped up when he heard the door open. He froze, staring for a second before exclaiming loudly "What the hell?!" Tosh and Gwen who had been talking about the root juice Gwen had drunken looked up and gasped.  
"Jack, what's going on?" Tosh asked, rushing over. Jack shrugged, "Ask him." He said waving at the creature. Tosh stared at him with fascination.  
"Well?" Jack asked, staring at him.  
"H...he broke into my apartment!" The creature stuttered out. "He attacked me! And... And I overpowered him, tied him up!"  
Jack looked doubtful, "Why didn't you call us? Or mention it when I got there?"  
"Because... The thing!"  
"The thing?"  
"Yes! Yes! He had it in his pocket, he still does, he hit me with it and, it messed with my mind, convinced me I shouldn't tell you."  
Jack frowned. "What thing?"  
"He has it! It's metal, made of rings, it makes you feel so calm and happy."  
"The device!" Gwen shouted out, "That's just like the device!"  
Jacks frown deepened. "Take it out."  
The creature made a big show of getting the device, making sure everyone saw he pulled it out of Ianto's pocket.  
"That's it!" Gwen said, sounding shocked. "But how? I lost it."  
"Tosh, take it from him." Jack instructed. Tosh slowly walked over and took the device from him. Suddenly Ianto shuttered, shaking as though cold.  
"Jack I should really get a look at...that one." Owen said, pointing at Ianto.  
Jack nodded, "Right, you," he motioned at the creature, "take him to the med bay, Owen, see if he is okay. Tosh, see if you can find out anything more about the device, I'm going to escort our 'friend' here to the cells once he's back, and then I'm going to work out what the hell is going on!"


	11. Chapter 11

Jack stared down at his team, he watched Owen run around trying to revive 'Ianto.' A stab of guilt hit him, he should have realised something was wrong, he'd noticed Ianto had been acting differently, but had let himself get caught up in Gwen's mess. He sighed, thinking back to it, he was sure now the device and two iantos linked to it somehow, he just wasn't sure how. Tosh was working on the device, he reminded himself, she was sure to find something.  
"Hey," the voice made him jump, glimpsing sideways he saw Gwen had come to join him. He offered her a small smile,  
"Alright Gwen?"  
She nodded, "I think so, it's just so strange, isn't it? I mean, two Iantos?"  
He nodded, "I was just thinking about that."  
She frowned at him, "How are you holding up Jack? It must be hard, not knowing which one he is, and knowing your Ianto could be that one." She waved towards the unconscious Ianto.  
Jack sighed, looking down, trying to hide his pain.  
She placed a hand on his shoulder,  
"We'll figure it out jack."  
He smiled at her, "I know we will," before turning to head down to Owen.

Jack walked over to Owen's station slowly, trying not to look at the bloody unconscious man in front of him.  
"How is he?"  
Owen looked up, "Not good Jack, he is dehydrated and malnourished, both his arms where dislocated, he is covered in bruises, and it looked like he sustained some pretty nasty blows to the head."  
"Will he live?"  
Owen hesitated, "he should." He said carefully.  
"Should?" Jack forced out.  
"I... I won't be certain until he wakes up, it's possible..."  
Jack grasped the edge of the table to steady himself. He remembered how he felt thinking Gwen was dead, imaging if Ianto died. He shook slightly, no, he couldn't loose Ianto.  
"Jack..." Owen said cautiously, "he might not even be Ianto."  
Jack straightened up. "Right, well do your be-"  
A scream from Toshiko cut him off. Both men's heads snapped up to Tosh's area.  
The device had lifted up, it was flouting a few meters off the ground.  
A strange werring noise filled the Hub, then a sudden bright light flashed out of the device, moving through the Hub. Jack felt it go through him, it hit him in the chest, he was surprised at how cold it was, freezing him as it passed through his body. The device pulsed once more, this time the light was a warm blue, it shot through, Jack barley felt it. The device pulsed once more, sending out a dull grey light, it was warm to touch, and moved slowly, like smoke. At the last of the light passed through the walls the noise stopped and the device dropped down, onto Toshiko's desk.  
Everyone stood still for a minute, waiting to see if anything else would happen.  
"What the bloody hell was that?!" Owen finally broke the silence.  
Tosh just shook her head, moving away from her desk.  
"What's going on?"  
Owen and Jack looked down in surprise at Ianto. His eyes where open and he was slowly sitting up. Owen grabbed his arm, searching for a sign of the bruises that had covered it only moments ago.  
"What the hell?" He exclaimed, examining Ianto.  
Ianto watched him frowning.  
"What's going on?" He repeated, looking around. "Jack? How did I get to the Hub? Where is he?"  
"Where's who?"  
"The thing... He, he looks like me, but he's not, he was Gwen first, but now he looks like me, I... I think..." A look of horror came over his face, "I think he's been pretending to be me."  
Jack was caught, he wanted to grab the young man in front of him and tell him everything was going to be okay, but part of him held back, remembering the desperate pleading face of the young man he locked down in a cell.  
Jack gulped. "Owen... Owen put him in a cell, then let the other one out, I want to have a talk with him."  
Owen hesitated for a second before nodding and grabbing Ianto's shoulder to guide him down to the cells.  
"Jack-" Ianto said, looking at him sadly.  
Jack held up his hand to stop him.  
"No, listen, I don't know if you are Ianto, but if you are, then please, just listen, I'm going to work this out. I just need you to do as I say, alright? I'll figure it out." He paused, "And if your not Ianto, and you've done anything to hurt him, I'll kill you."  
Ianto nodded, "Alright, I trust you."  
Jack felt part of his chest burst with yearning to comfort the young man, but he swallowed it down, and motioned for Owen to continue.

The creature felt the light hit him, finding all the wounds on the body, quickly repairing them, leaving it as good as new. A smile formed on his lips, the device was fully charged, quickly the smile disintegrated as he remembered that he had no way of reaching the device. He cursed, leaning back against the cell wall. He felt so hopeless and trapped, it was horrible. Footsteps echoed down the corridor, he watched in interest as Owen pushed Ianto into the cell next to his.  
Grumbling Owen opened his cell and motioned for him to step out. Frowning slightly he obliged.  
"What's going on Owen?" He asked as Owen clasped hand cuffs around his wrists.  
"Jack wants to speak with you," Owen replied.  
"What's with theses?" He lifted his hands.  
"Incase your not Ianto," Owen spoke gruffly, pushing him down the corridor. As he walked The creature fought with his body to stay calm, he felt the fear struggle to take over. His hands bargain to shake, he rammed them deep in his pockets, ignoring the fact the rest of him was now trembling. Cold sweat dripped down his face, he took a deep breath, hating human form more and more, praying the walk up would give him enough time to calm down.

To his surprise Owen did not lead him up to the Hub, but rather to a small concrete room below. The room was empty except for two chairs and a table, Owen motioned for him to sit. Gingerly he lowered himself into one of the chairs, jumping when Owen shut the door and left. He sat in silence, noticing a cctv camera on one wall, he offered it a small smile.  
The door on the other side of the room swung open and Jack stepped in, his face grim.


	12. Chapter 12

_Oh god it's been ages, really sorry about that, I got sick, and then I got writers block, but I'm back now, and plan to finish this soon, will upload at least one chapter a week, probs looking at a couple more chapters, not exactly sure how many yet._

Jack froze, staring back at the thing on the other end of the table. He'd gone in refusing to let his feelings control his mind, until he knew it was Ianto he was going to act like it wasn't. He told himself they where just a person, not someone he knew or carried for, but seeing his face knocked the breath out of him. It was Ianto's face, Ianto's body, looking so timid and small. He wanted to grab him and comfort him, but memories of the other one stopped him. He recalled the bloody bruised person he found in the tub, now locked in a cell.  
He let a hardened mask fall across his face. He took a seat across from the being.  
The being looked across at him with large, frightened eyes.  
Jack studied the man, looking for a sign, a difference, anything showing if this was Ianto or not.  
"...jack?" the mans quite voice breaking the silence.  
Jack gulped slightly, forcing down his emotions.  
"Name?" He spoke sharply, snapping the word out.  
"Ianto...Jones " the reply was cautious, unsure.  
Jack nodded. He lent forward, locking eyes with him. "who Is Ianto Jones?" He asked.  
A look of worry flashed in the mans eyes, only for a second, but Jack caught it.

"Im Ianto, I work here, at Torchwood. I make coffee, clean, look after the place-"  
Jack raised a hand to cut him off.  
"What's our relationship?"  
"We're... Lovers."  
Jack caught the tone, one he didn't recognise, his suspicion grew.  
"What is your relationship with Toshiko?"  
"We're friends."  
The tone again, he sounded almost snooty, like he thought he was superior. He held himself that way too, Jack realised, he was almost certain this wasn't Ianto. But he needed proof, he needed to trip this guy, this thing up.  
With a slight smile, staring straight at him he asked,  
"And who," he spoke slowly and clearly, "is Cristina?"

The creature felt the air rush out of him, Cristina? She wasn't in the diary, who was she? A sister? No, Ianto only has one sister, he mentioned that. So who then, a friend? Relative? Old lover?  
He glimpsed up, Jack raised an eyebrow.  
"Cristina is..." He took a gamble, "an ex"  
The creature watched as Jacks face went from emotionless to cold and angry, fuck, he'd messed up, god dam it. The question had caught him so bloody off guard, who the hell was Cristina? Why hadn't he heard about this person?  
He watched as Jack stood and left the room, feeling his heart beating in his chest.

Jack stepped out of the room and turned to Owen and Toshiko.  
"Well?" Owen demanded.  
"That's not Ianto." Jack replied.  
"Is the one in the cells Ianto? Tosh asked.  
"I don't know, let's go find out." Jack replied, turning towards the cells.  
"Hey! What do we do with this guy?" Owen asked, waving towards the locked door.  
Jack paused for a second, "leave him, lets let him sit and think for a little while shall we? Oh but do keep an eye on him, incase he does anything stupid."  
Owen scowled, "shouldn't I come down and help?"  
"I'm sure we can manage," Jack shot back, "But if your desperate I'm sure Tosh can do it."  
Toshiko shot Owen a smile,  
"You go down, incase it's not Ianto, I'll watch this guy."  
Owen smiled back, before hurrying to catch up with Jack, who had left while they where talking.

Ianto sat with his head in his hands, wondering what the hell was going on, he remembered being chained in the bathtub, and hearing Jack enter, but from there to the moment he woke up in the hub everything was a blur. He guessed he must have passed out and Jack had brought him back, but how had his wounds healed? Had he been unconscious long enough for all his wounds to heal? Even if he had he should have scars, from where the chains cut into his skin, but his arms where bare, without a mark on them.  
He looked up at the sound of foot steps, watching Jack and Owen approach, wondering if they had answers to any if his questions.

Jack smiled slightly at the sight of the young man, everything about him screamed Ianto, but remembering the way the other one had tricked him at first wiped away the smile. He replaced it with a blank face. he stopped in front of the cell and watched as the young man stood up to face him.  
"Who is Christina?" Jack asked sharply.  
Ianto jumped slightly,  
"Christina? I... " he paused, a worried look on his face.  
"I don't know," he said, finally, not meeting Jacks eyes.  
A grin spread across his face, this was Ianto, he was certain of it. grinning he unlocked the door and dragged Ianto into a bone crushing hug.


	13. Chapter 13

_**uploaded the wrong file, sorry, thanks for pointing it out.**_

Jack hovered over Owen's shoulder, watching as he checked Ianto over again. Owen sighed, and slammed down his tools.  
"Dammit Jack! He's fine, and if he wasn't I can't bloody work with you in the way!"  
Jack nodded sheepishly and stepped back. "Right, sorry, your sure he's okay?"  
Owen groaned, "don't you have other things to worry about, like what we are going to do with the guy you left in the examination room?"  
Jack's face darkened. "I thought I might just leave him to rot." He replied. Owen raised an eyebrow.  
"Alright, fine, I'm going to talk to him again, see if I can get some answers to what he was doing to Ianto, and what the device is, then I'll leave him to rot." Owen rolled his eyes and turned back to Ianto.

Jack dragged himself away from them to where Tosh sat, talking quickly into her phone. She paused when she saw him, lowering the phone and shooting him a smile. "How's Ianto?"  
"Owen says he's fine," he looked at her blank monitor frowning, "I thought you where keeping an eye on our guest?"  
"I let Gwen do it, she wanted to help, I'm talking to Unit, apparently they know of something similar to the device, I was hoping they would let me get a look at their reports on it."  
Jack nodded approvingly, "any luck yet?"  
Tosh sighed and shook her head.  
"Right, keep trying, let me know if you find anything." Jack told her.

Jack stepped back into the examination room, the creature looked up surprised. Silently he sat down across from the creature, "who are you?" His voice was surprisingly calm and steady.  
The creature flinched slightly, "Ian-"  
Jack shook his head "who are you?"  
The creature sighed and lent forward, "I never got a name," he spoke quietly, his voice wavering.  
"What are you?" Jack asked, his eyes boring into the creature.  
He shook his head, "I don't know, I don't know if we even have a name."  
"Why did you come here?"  
"I didn't mean to! I don't know how it happened."  
"What is the device?"  
"I don't know what it's called, but it was made by my people, to give us a body, to let us live!"  
Jack lent forward slightly, "why did you take over Ianto's body?"  
"Because I... I just wanted to live, to feel the wind across my face, to smell, taste, touch. Without his body, I would be like a... Shadow, I had been a shadow for so long, I just wanted to live again."  
Jack raised an eyebrow, "you've killed at least two people, and hurt Ianto."  
"That wasn't me! It's the device! The ones who made it where, sick. They left some of themselves in each device, when you have it they change how you act. That's why I didn't carry one with me all the time, why I didn't have one when I came here."  
"The device made you kill?"  
"Yes! Yes, I never meat to kill those people, I only planed to kill Ianto."  
Jacks face darkened, "you planned to kill Ianto?"  
"No!...yes, but not because I want to, I don't have a choice, that's how it works!"  
"How do-" jack was cut off by Tosh shouting in his ear, "Jack get up here! Unit gave me the reports, your really going to want to see this."  
Jack frowned, "Tosh I'm in the middle of-"  
"Bring him too! Just get up here."  
Jack jumped up, and motioned for the creature to do so to. He was happy to see the thing was still handcuffed, he pushed the creature out ahead of him, leading him up to the Hub.


	14. Chapter 14

When jack and the creature arrived everything was silent, everyone stood around the glowing device.  
"What's going on? What's it doing?" Jack asked, pushing forward to see the device.  
"It's preparing its self." The creature replied, handing his head."  
"Preparing for what?" Jack demanded.  
"Preparing to take over Ianto." Tosh spoke quietly, "that's what happened with Unit's one, it 'activated' and then took over the mind of the person the shapeshifter had copied."  
"What happened?"  
"She started shooting at people so they sedated her, tried to find a way to separate her mind from the device, she died in the process."  
Jack looked at the creature, "is that what's happening here?"  
The creature sighed, and nodded. "Yea, the ones who made the device, they programmed the part of them in it to travel to the body it first imprints on once it has enough energy. See it kinda connects my new body and the old one together for a while, making sure they are the same, I had to keep him alive then, because most of my energy was coming from him, if he died my body wouldn't hold. Then when my body is done the connection breaks, the device repairs both bodies, so it's new one is all nice and ready to go. You have to kill him before that happens."  
"What if we kill you?"  
The creature gulped, a cold sweat forming on his neck, he could lie, they didn't know, but what would happen to him? What would they do with him? "Killing me, this body... It, it..." He sighed and closed his eyes, all he had wanted to do was live, he guessed he could, he could say this body's death wouldn't change anything, he would live. But how? Trapped in a cell, looked after by people who hated him, who had reason to hate him. You would live though, part of him pointed out, it clung to it, life, in a cell yes. But being able to speak, smell, taste, hear...feel. Smiling, crying, pain, feeling his cheeks burn, feeling his stomach clench. He could have that, it wouldn't be a great life, but he would live. He opened his eyes, looked at the people watching him. No. He could not do it, he could not lie, live trapped in a cell, he had hurt them too much already. If he had the device it would give him strength, make him lie, make him survive. But it lay on the table, not in his hand. this was his choice, and as much as he hated it he wasn't a killer, he couldn't do it.

"Kill me and the device will deactivate, it will shutdown." The bullet entered his skull almost before he was done talking. The pain screamed through him, taking over everything, clouding his mind, and then it was gone. Emptiness took his place, rising slowly he watched the body fall and crumple on the ground, an empty shell, nothing left within. He watched the man, Jack, shouting out orders at the others. He saw the medic move to lift the body, Gwen turn with a hint of sorrow in her face, the other one moved to examine the device. He saw Jack move, pulling Ianto into an embrace. High above he watched the two of them, and knew he had made the right choice. as he flouted out of the Hub it struck him that if he was still able to, he would be smiling.


End file.
